There was never any real doubt that Kate Prout had been killed by her estranged husband. The question was whether the police could prove it.

Yesterday Adrian Prout, a 45-year-old landowner from Gloucestershire, was convicted of murder even though no body, nor any trace of his wife, has been found since her disappearance two years ago.

A jury at Bristol Crown Court took 14 hours and 17 minutes to find him guilty of murder by a majority of ten to one. He showed no emotion as he was told by the judge that he will receive a mandatory life sentence when he returns to court on Monday.

Mrs Prout, a retired teacher ten years her husband’s senior, vanished in 2007 in the middle of an acrimonious divorce battle. The couple had continued to live in the same house in Redmarley, despite threats from Mr Prout that he would kill her and knew people who could “get rid of bodies”, until shortly before her disappearance.Related Links

* Diary of a marriage breakdown

* Missing, presumed dead

* Wife vanished after demanding £800,000 divorce

In fact, Mr Prout had the means and the opportunity. Among his business interests was a pipe-laying company that used heavy digging equipment. He also owned more than 276 acres of land where he ran pheasant shoots. Police were convinced from the start that Mrs Prout was dead and had not just run away from her bullying husband.

Her credit cards, mobile phone and passport were all left in the house and she had given no hint that she was planning to leave. The trigger that led to her killing was a demand that her husband increase her divorce settlement to £800,000, a sum that meant that he would have to sell his farm, which was valued at £1.2 million, and start again from scratch.

The prosecution contended that Prout killed his wife with his bare hands. Having disposed of her body he then waited five days to report her disappearance to the police.

Throughout the inquiry he showed little or no interest in her whereabouts and stayed cool even when officers returned time and again to search his land. The search lasted five weeks and was the largest in Gloucestershire Police’s history. Lakes were drained and ground-penetrating radar and dogs used to search for a body, but of Mrs Prout there was no sign.

By the time Mr Prout was charged with murder in March last year he had had a child with a local woman and appeared convinced that he would escape punishment because of the lack of anything other than circumstancial evidence.

Yesterday Mrs Prout’s family appealed to him to tell them what he had done with her body. Her brother Richard Wakefield, 59, from Lypiatt, near Stroud, said: “Nothing will bring Kate back to us, but we are pleased that justice has been done. We would, however, appeal to Adrian to tell us what happened to Kate and where she is because we would like to lay her to rest and say our goodbyes.”

During the trial Crown Paul Dunkels, prosecuting, said that the Prouts’ marriage had never been an easy one. He said that Mrs Prout had a volatile personality. “She could be rude, had a short temper and she would have tantrums. This was reflective in the character of her relationship with the defendant,” he said.

The couple met and married in 2000, when Prout was living in a caravan, and later bought Redhill Farm for £820,000. Mrs Prout felt that her husband spent too much time working and too little with her.

There was friction when Prout’s daughter from his previous marriage came to stay. Mrs Prout left diary accounts of violent rows during which her husband threatened to kill her.

On one occasion she wrote that he threatened to finish her off by pushing her into the empty swimming pool at their home.

After the verdict Neil Kelly, the acting Detective Superintendent who led the investigation, said that Prout had shown no remorse for what he had done. “We are pleased with the outcome of the trial as it marks a successful conclusion to a very lengthy and painstaking investigation,” he said.

“This investigation proved particularly challenging for the force because the body of Kate Prout has never been found. This has made what happened more distressing for her family, who have never been able to say a proper goodbye. Throughout the investigation and the trial, Adrian Prout has shown no remorse and has failed to assist the police in any way.”

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I didn't see this mentioned on here and thought it worthwhile bringing it here for the attention of our overseas posters.

And also for when the McScams login to read us. That must have got you twitchy especially since it was all over the press whilst you were at Amarals trial.

ETA: Must have had Gerry going since he's clinging to the belief that 'the PJ have absolutely no evidence against us'. Sometimes you don't need it Gerry..... there's NO evidence of Maddies abduction but plenty of circumstancial evidence that you were involved in whatever happened.

Alex Watts, Sky News OnlinePolice searching for the body of a woman who was killed by her wealthy landowner husband have started digging up land on the farm where they lived.

Prout was convicted of killing his wife even though her body was never found

Kate Prout, 55, vanished from the £1.2m farm she shared with her husband Adrian Prout during bitter divorce proceedings.

Prout, from Redmarley, Gloucestershire, was found guilty of her murder at Bristol Crown Court in February, even though a body was never found.

Det Ch Insp Neil Kelly, of Gloucestershire Police, said: "Acting on information received, a patch of land within the grounds of Redhill Farm, at Redmarley, is being forensically examined for possible evidence relating to the disappearance and murder of Kate Prout.

"At present, nothing significant has been found. Kate Prout's family have been kept informed."

Prout, 47, became a father with his fiancee Debbie Garlick after Mrs Prout vanished in November 2007.

Redhill Farm

Police are searching farmland at the family home

The killer, who ran a commercial pheasant shoot and pipe-laying business, is thought to have strangled the retired teacher and disposed of her body to avoid having to pay her a large divorce settlement.

Mrs Prout had demanded half the matrimonial assets, a lump sum of £800,000, according to financial documents seen by Sky News.

The only way for her husband to raise the money would have been to sell the couple's farm, which he was not prepared to do.

During the murder investigation, police carried out an extensive search of the 1,400-acre farm, and surrounding countryside.

Mrs Prout had left her mobile phone and handbag behind and there was nothing to suggest she had left of her own volition.

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Maybe he's decided to finally admit where his wife is and appeal for a lesser sentence??

I do believe if the Mcs and tapas lot had ever been charged with something, the truth would have come out

Last edited by margaret on Wed 12 May - 15:51; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : tidying up)